Review of The Fruit of Grisaia

I have to admit, there were parts of this story where I laughed my butt of, and other parts where I almost threw up because it started addressing several of my biggest fears in a very effective manner. When it comes to the story, overall it has a typical visual novel type of pacing. The main character solves the problems of one girl, then moves on to the next girl. This is very typical in VN adaptations, though in Grisaia's case it's the content that makes the story interesting to watch. Yes, you may get tired of knowing that the main character can somehow solvethe problem of any girl and have most of them fall for him in the process, but if you can get used to that then there's a lot more to this anime.
Sometimes this anime is pretty funny, but when episode 4 arrives, it tones the comedy down a bit in favor to staying serious when it should be. It doesn't try to lighten the mood with jokes, but rather lets the atmosphere stay dark until we step back into the light. This makes the drama all the more engaging because it's not trying too hard.
The romance, though it is there, it is not really addressed too much. It also contains a certain amount of ecchi, but not so much that it becomes very distracting.. That is except the OVA..
They don't really gloss over the cruel things happening in this anime, but rather shows you as much as possible without having to censor everything. This anime is not afraid to tell you that what is already pretty bad, can, and will, get even worse. I'm not kidding when I say this: This anime triggered my claustrophobia twice and I had to stop the episode for a little while before being able to continue. And this may be what turned some people off in this anime. It shows some pretty sexual scenes and some really twisted images. It's hard to get into it if you came for a typical VN type of story. Many people don't like the VN type of pacing either, so it's not the best story, though far from the worst.
I'm sorry if I'm comparing this anime with a VN a lot, but it's honestly what it felt like I was watching. This anime didn't truly manage to go from VN to anime, but it tried at least.

It's in the characters that most of this shows strengths lies. Though most of the characters seem to be cardboard cutouts of typical anime characters, like the tsundere, maid, rich girl, loli and big boobed tomboy, what makes these character so interesting is their twisted backstories. Each character has a severe trauma from the past that still haunts them to this day, and they are all pretty messed up. Heck, even our main protagonist Yuuji has a really dark past that we don't really get to see all that much of (see Grisaia no Meikyuu and Grisaia no Rakuen). Speaking of our main character, it's refreshing to finally see a male main character who is not a typical nice guy with no unique personality. He's cynical, funny and has no idea how normal life works. He can sometimes come off as robot-like, though he does show some emotion when needed. He's also incredibly smart, though very bad at taking a hint.
In this anime all girls are wearing the mask of a cardboard cutout character, when they're actually very broken people. I won't go into specifics on each character, but each girl's problems is not just a common childhood trauma or attitude issues, some of them are seriously messed up. It brings up themes like double personalities, rape, incest, suicide, insanity and abuse, and it does so without mercy. It becomes the Yuuji's job to rip off that mask and glue their real self back together. When you see what's behind the mask, that's when it gets really interesting. The change they go through is often very realistic. Tough most of them go back to their cartboard cutout by the end of their storyline, the changes are still visible. You feel the characters pain and truly wish for them to get a happy ending.
The "villains" are also very well thought out. They all have legitimate motivations for doing what they are doing, and they aren't just there to be evil.

Artwise I enjoyed it to a certain extent. It, again, had a very VN type of design, and more than often it felt like I was playing a VN. I didn't mind it all too much, but I still wish it would have gone a bit more out of that VN comfort zone. The visuals and symbolism is pretty to look at, and the scenery is not that bad. The art is also very, how should I say this.. Shiny. Light can reflect from anything in this anime. It got a bit distracting at times, but there were also times when it was very beautiful. It likes to play with contrasts, which makes everything really pop out, and is quite pleasant to look at. The colors are vibrant and can be distracting at times, but I still liked it quite a lot.

In the music department, the opening is catchy, but nothing very special. It feels like your everyday drama/harem opening and doesn't really bring anything new to the table.
There are 4 endings overall, ranging from upbeat and happy to calm and sad. Sometimes it doesn't really fit the darker atmosphere this anime often has, but I grew surprisingly fond of them. Especially the fourth ending, which is a very calm and beautiful song. If you should check out any of the songs, I would say to check out that one.
I would also talk about the OST, but I had a hard time finding it online, so I'll just say that nothing really stood out too much, but it wasn't all that bad either. It fit the atmosphere, but it wasn't something all that special.

I do have mixed feelings about this anime. After the two times my claustrophobia was triggered, and the fact that I honestly almost threw up during the last storyline, it's hard for me to decide how much I really liked it. I thought the images was pretty, the storylines were engaging and the drama was very well balanced, so I want to say I really liked it. And, actually, I will say it. I did really enjoy most of this anime. It's dark atmosphere mixed with drama, action, comedy and some ecchi was just interesting to watch. I liked that they showed everything and weren't afraid of showing us very messed up situations. It's unpredictable to a certain extent, though it does feel like a VN. It may just be that I'm a wimp, but still, beware if you have a weak stomach or claustrophobia.

Is this anime a must watch? Not really. Its strength lies in its dark and twisted character backgrounds and it can be very engaging and emotional, though you have to get used to the VN type of pacing and some pretty messed up stuff. If you enjoy this kind of story and setting, kind of like a really dark and weird version of Clannad, then go watch it.